1:1 laptop implications and district policy considerations

摘要

Background: The state of Iowa has seen a drastic increase in the number of schools that provide one laptop for each student. These 1:1 schools have invested large amounts of time and money into becoming a 1:1 school. The current research on 1:1 schools is sparse, and policy makers are actively trying to evaluate those programs.Purpose: To assess the effects of 1:1 laptop programs across the state of Iowa on time students use technology, integration of technology, and teacher competency with technology.Setting: There were 110 public high schools across the state of Iowa that were included in this study, and 37 of those were 1:1 schools.Subjects: Data were collected for both the school and teachers. A total of 922 teachers at 110 schools filled out the survey completely and were included in the study.Research Design: Schools were initially identified for the study using propensity score matching. A propensity score was generated for each school, and treatment and control schools were matched based on their propensity score. Once schools had been identified multi-level models were created for the three separate dependent variables of interest in this study.Data Collection and Analysis: Data on schools were collected from the Iowa Department of Education and the Common Core of Data. Teacher level data were collected using a survey that was based off of a survey created by Hutchison and Reinking (2011). Each of the three research questions in the study was analyzed with four separate multi-level models.Findings: Significant differences were identified between 1:1 educators and their non-1:1 peers. Teachers in 1:1 schools reported that their students used technology more frequently, and 1:1 educators also reported higher integration scores. The remaining finding indicated that 1:1 educators reported that they had higher competency levels with technology than other educators.Conclusions: This study demonstrates that a 1:1 program is one way for schools to increase students\u27 access and exposure to technology. It also indicates that 1:1 schools appear to develop their teachers\u27 skill set with technology better than other schools.